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Unitarian Universalists use different terms for the words that begin a worship service, including call to worship, invocation, and opening words. These words invite the congregation from their separate lives and to the common place and time of the worship hour.

(In Unitarian Universalist worship if there are Opening Words there is generally not an Invocation, and vice versa.)

Search Words for Worship Services

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Displaying 1 - 20 of 57

  • A vibrant pen-and-ink sketch of two hands reaching for one another.
    We are learning to regroup and remember perfection was never the point.
    Opening | By Gretchen Haley | June 27, 2022 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Grace, Growth, Healing, Progress, Relationships, Self-Respect, Vulnerability, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • An abstract flame-like pattern, in bright gold colors, and a black background.
    May we tend our Soul Fire through these challenging and trying times
    Chalice Lighting | By anastasi birosh | March 31, 2022 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #8thPrinciple, Acceptance, Challenge, Hope, Hospitality, Inclusion, Purpose, Unitarian Universalism, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A person's head and shoulders, viewed from behind, with bright rays of colored light forming an aura.
    Whether you have made promises, broken promises, or are renewing your promises, you are beloved and you are welcome here.
    Opening | By Joan Javier-Duval | March 2, 2022 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Abundance, Acceptance, Community, Hospitality, Inclusion, Love, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A ceramic mug of coffee sits on a table next to an open laptop, showing many people in Zoom cells.
    We gather together....
    Opening | By Michelle LaGrave | November 18, 2021 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Acceptance, Community, Inclusion, Interdependence, Unity, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Two pairs of hands hold a map and a compass, as if to get bearings mid-journey.
    Set your compass to point towards hope and begin your journey home.
    Opening | By Lindasusan Ulrich | June 2, 2021 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Acceptance, Brokenness, Community, Healing, Wholeness
  • Four young adults, with their backs to the camera, wrap their arms around each other outdoors as bright sun shines around them.
    Unitarian Universalism has a place for you. It is right here.
    Chalice Lighting | By Tara Humphries | March 3, 2021 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Acceptance, Community, Inclusion, Young Adults, Youth/Teens, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • A person's torso and arms. They're holding out their forearms and hands, palms up, in a gesture of acceptance or receiving.
    Give up the fight For some other moment Some other life Than here, and now Give up the longing for some other world The wishing for other choices to make other songs to sing other bodies, other ages, other countries, other stakes Purge the past; forgive the future— for each come too soon.
    Opening | By Gretchen Haley | April 8, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Acceptance, Body, Choice, Direct Experience, Forgiveness, Mindfulness, Peace, Presence
  • An oval mirror, lying on grass, reflects the blue sky and two birds flying
    We speak so often of brokenness in religious life, Let us speak today of wholeness....
    Opening | By Sharon Wylie | May 28, 2019 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Acceptance, Anti-Oppression, Beauty, Coming Out, Gender, Humanism, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, National Coming Out Day, Pride Sunday, Secular, Self-Respect, Wholeness
  • Hands_heart-shaped_sky_water
    Oh, divine Love, With the kindling of this flame, may we realize and love our true selves: Our true, round belly selves. Our true, bags under our eyes, selves. Our true, naturally hairy, selves. Our true, wrinkles on our skin, selves. May our self-love help keep our chalice ablaze.
    Chalice Lighting | By Cooper Garrett | May 27, 2019 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Acceptance, Body, Compassion, Courage, Dignity, Love, Self-Respect, Shame, Truth, Vulnerability
  • A circle of people, from above, with hands extended into the center of a circle.
    Voice 1: You are beloved and you are welcome here Voice 2: Whether tears have fallen from your eyes this past week or gleeful laughter has spilled out of your smiling mouth Voice 1: You are beloved and you are welcome here Voice 2: Whether you are feeling brave or broken-hearted; defiant or...
    Opening | By Joan Javier-Duval | January 16, 2019 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Acceptance, Brokenness, Caring, Community, Compassion, Diversity, Inclusion, Love, Unitarian Universalism, Wholeness, Worth, Worship
  • Four hands, each making a letter, spell the word "LOVE." In the background is water and sky.
    We welcome you. We know you come here for different reasons—to find community, to seek your spiritual and personal truths, to question, to nurture your heart and soul, to be nurtured, to explore new ideas, to find comfort, and perhaps to find the answers to some of your bigger questions. We...
    Welcome | By Marilyn Falkowski | December 7, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Acceptance, Community, Diversity, WorshipWeb
  • Unitarian Universalist Association Chalice
    It is not by chance that you arrived here today. You have been looking for something larger than yourself. Inside of you there is a yearning, a calling, a hope for more, A desire for a place of belonging and caring. Through your struggles, someone nurtured you into being, Instilling a belief in a...
    Opening | By Kimberlee Anne Tomczak Carlson | September 14, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Abundance, Acceptance, Caring, Coming Out, Commitment, Community, Flower Communion, Home, Homecoming / Ingathering, New Member Ceremony, Unitarian Universalism, Water Communion
  • A pile of bright fuschia flower blossoms rest in the open hands and lap of a stone Buddha or Quan Yin statue
    Suspended between all that was and all that might be, we struggle to find this very moment—to live this very moment. Let us sit together for a moment, and savor this moment. Let us relish this between time where past meets future, Let us harbor a faith that reminds us that right now, right here,...
    Opening | By Linda Barnes | March 15, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Balance, Buddhism, Direct Experience, Mindfulness, Presence, Unitarian Universalism
  • The shadowed silhouettes of two people holding their hands together to form a heart.
    Every little thing that breaks your heart Is welcome here We'll make a space for it Give it its due time and praise for the wanting it represents the longing for something more, some healing hope that remains not yet We promise no magic no making it all better But offer only this circle of trust...
    Opening | By Gretchen Haley | February 19, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Acceptance, Compassion, Direct Experience, Growth, Healing, Hospitality, Unitarian Universalism
  • A large gray rock is cracked down the middle, where many small colorful stones are caught
    We seek our place in the world and the answers to our hearts’ deep questions. As we seek, may our hearts be open to unexpected answers. May the light of our chalice remind us that this is a community of warmth, of wisdom, and welcoming of multiple truths.
    Chalice Lighting | By Julianne Lepp | December 8, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Direct Experience, Diversity, Hospitality, Mystery, Searching, Truth, Unitarian Universalism, Wonder
  • The shadowed silhouettes of two people holding their hands together to form a heart.
    There is nothing you need to bring with you to be welcome here no right beliefs or proof of citizenship no eternal optimism or clarity of conviction no boundless courage or endless expertise You do not need to know what brought you here Or how you will solve that problem you are turning over and...
    Opening | By Gretchen Haley | October 24, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Acceptance, Community, Interdependence, Vulnerability
  • Against gray leaves, a chalice of green stems and a "flame" of red leaves
    Reader One: You who feel your heart is breaking, come in. Reader Two: You who are confused and wondering. Come in. Reader Three: You who are angry, in pain, or not wanting to be here. Come in. Reader Four: You who are hopeful and energized. Come in. Leader: Come into this community of your heart...
    Chalice Lighting | By Amy Russell | October 24, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Acceptance, Community, Hope, Pain, Unitarian Universalism, Vulnerability
  • A small bird's nest is held in a human hand (black and white photo)
    Come into this place with your whole self – the parts that are raw and exposed; the part that is beaming with joy; the part that is seeking the truth, the new, the possibility. Come into this place – open your heart, lay down your burden, lift up your hope – for something new to happen. Come...
    Opening | By Margaret Weis | July 4, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Acceptance, Caring, Direct Experience, Humanism, Journey, Joy, Presence, Wholeness
  • A pile of bright fuschia flower blossoms rest in the open hands and lap of a stone Buddha or Quan Yin statue
    Here here is where you can lay it down Lay down all that you have carried the weight of the world that has rounded your back leaving you aching and exhausted Here here is where healing begins where burdens are set down and alongside one another’s their magnitude does not seem as great Here here i...
    Opening | By Joan Javier-Duval | April 13, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Acceptance, Brokenness, Community, Healing, Hospitality, Unitarian Universalism
  • Seen from above, a person's hands cradle a mug of cocoa. Also visible is their torso wrapped in a wool blanket.
    Now has come hard winter, With whip of wind and slash of snow and the diamond-bright stars in the black ice of the heavens. Just as we resist the season with shovel and scraper, wool and windbreaker, we embrace it with sled and snowboard, cocoa and comforter. Winter is here: let us find warmth in...
    Opening | By Ben Soule | February 7, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Acceptance, Balance, Beauty, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Grace, Nature, Secular, Winter